hey guys, i just got a new model 1 non tmss from ebay and it has some weird things about it. when i removed the expansion port cover it immediately looked strange, the contacts are not gold/bronze but grey! and it looks like someone soldered a transistor or something right on the expansion port as well! also all the screws that hold the system together on the back and inside are bronze colored instead of black! heres some pics: the system works perfect so far, great composite video and stereo sound, but im trying to figure out if this thing has been modded and for what reason? i haven't gone any deeper to look at the motherboard if theres more strange things going on there, but if you guys recommend i check the motherboard i will. i haven't tested rgb or 32x yet but so far its working. when i asked the seller if everything was working he said yes and then he asked "do you plan to mod it?" which might mean hes already done something to this console. i wanted your guys opinion on this before i message the ebay seller. i might keep it but im wondering whats going on with this system, it looks modded and those contacts look strange. thanks!
Don't fret!, that is a genuine Sega last minute factory mod. That's a capacitor by the way. Sega is well known for doing this type of thing. Which board revision is it? The tape is there in the hopes of isolating the cap from the RF metal shielding.
thanks for the response! i don't know the board revision, i only took the top off to clean it, i didn't remove the metal shielding. can i find the board revision without removing the metal shielding or do i have to go all the way to find out? what about those contacts on the expansion port? they look really strange don't they? the system has great composite and stereo sound though i must say!
Might as well and go all the way, I'm sure you'll find some lint or dirt to dust off around there. The contacts are not unusual at all, as a matter of fact most if not all of the Japanese MD boards I've seen came this way, and much more common in Genesis model 2's.
thanks ronnie, i cleaned everything good with my air compressor, the cart slot had 25 years of slow building carpet and pet hair in it! i might open it again to find out the revision. was it ever decided if there was one non tmss to rule them all? isn't it basically va2 is different then va3-5? is va2 better then va3,4,5? if there all basically the same i might not open it again. it does bump some tunes though bruh!
i opened it up one more time and give it a final detail cleaning. its a va3 board! i tested it with rgb and 32x and everything checks out. thanks for clearing that stuff up ronnie! edit- so i noticed my new genesis isn't as loud as my main non tmss. i opened my main model 1 and it turns out both consoles are the va3 board revision. the new genesis sound quality is very good but it definitely doesn't get as loud as my main console. you guys think this means some of the capacitors are starting to go out in my new genesis? damn old consoles!
The black coating on the contacts are actually conductive. It's meant to reduce noise from contacts and make it less prone to malfunction. All of the Japanese/Asia units have it.
But is indeed a capacitor. (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Axial_capacitors_color_code.jpg)
